PHOENIX — Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia has taken a patient approach before making any changes, if any, to the front office, coaching staff or roster.
For the first time since the Portland Trail Blazers eliminated them in a best-of-five series in 1999, Phoenix was swept out of the postseason. After losing all four games to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round, frustration among the Suns' fan base has only increased.
"I love that people are frustrated. Guess what? So are we," Ishbia said in a press conference Wednesday. "The narrative around 'the house is burning' is incorrect. The Phoenix Suns are doing great. Excellent. Not as good as we want to be, and not as good as we're going to be next year, and that's what we're going to figure out. What are we going to tweak, modify and adjust?"
Emphasizing winning before the season, and implementing a "big three" offensive attack of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal to team up with championship-winning head coach Frank Vogel, the Suns narrowly avoided NBA's play-in tournament, earning the Western Conference's No. 6 seed by owning the tiebreaker over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Ishbia mentioned the starting five of Durant, Booker, Beal, Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen are all signed, publicly hinting that major changes will be made regarding the depth of the roster.
"I have not had one discussion about my GM, my coach, we're trading players now supposedly in the media," Ishbia said. "Not one discussion has been had, let alone a decision. That's what I'm here for now. I'm here Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to have those conversations. I'm meeting with the players, the coach, the GM, the CEO, I'm meeting with all those people this week."
General Manager James Jones echoed the belief in his head coach and players.
"Going into this offseason, we have everything that we need to be able to add the players, or the positions, to make us better," Jones said. "We're talking about elite players who want to win saying, 'How can we win today?'
"I thought Frank (Vogel) did a good job considering all the circumstances. We assembled a really talented team, guys from primarily three scorers. Whenever you’re trying to get guys to adjust their games, there’s a transition time. Sometimes it's a struggle, but I thought he did a great job."
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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